Tangut Component 553

It is a structural piece used to describe and index Tangut characters. A Tangut dictionary indexes the complete character 𘗲 under 𘨨. That is a filing relationship; it does not give 𘨨 a standalone translation.

A 1985 study of Tangut writing notes that a graphic element used as a radical—an indexing part—can carry several meanings, while the same element used phonetically can represent several sounds. Read the complete character in context rather than assigning this component one word meaning.

Why was the Tangut script created?

It was created in 1036 as part of Tangut state-building. Emperor Li Yuanhao ordered the script; it was intended in part to support a Tangut Buddhist canon and establish an identity distinct from Song China. Tangut writing did not derive from Chinese, though Chinese writing inspired its shapes and principles of composition; its creators also followed Khitan neighbors, who had created two scripts about a century earlier.

An undated manuscript found at Khara-Khoto probably dates to the 12th or early 13th century. It preserves a Chinese work translated into Tangut; other surviving texts include Buddhist scriptures and material translated from Tibetan. Unicode describes Tangut components as tools scholars use to index, describe, and analyze complete characters.